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Running trails in Cumberland, RI
Cumberland has 8 trails in the directory — 2 paved and 1 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 loop that returns to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, and 3 open 24 hours. 5 of them post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 952 Google reviews. Filter by surface, loop, distance, shade or lighting to get to the run you're actually planning — no made-up difficulty score, just the facts you'd check before driving out.
Diamond Hill Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 611 reviews
Leafy 373-acre park atop a hill that features sports fields, picnic areas, a pond & a walking trail.
Mercy Woods Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 32 reviews
Hiking area with well-marked trails, including the blue and yellow routes, near Cumberland Reservoir.
The Blackall Family Preserve
4.2 ★★★★☆ 9 reviews
Otis Smith Farm and Rowbottom Preserve - Cumberland Land Trust
4.4 ★★★★☆ 5 reviews
Catamint Brook Preserve
5 ★★★★★ 4 reviews
Green Acre Meadows
5 ★★★★★ 2 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Cumberland
- Match the surface to your legs. Cumberland gives you a choice: 2 paved and 1 natural surface. Asphalt and concrete are fast, predictable and runnable year-round but the least forgiving; crushed limestone and dirt take the sting out of high mileage; boardwalk is flat and scenic but slick in the wet. If your shins or knees are complaining, the fix that actually works is varying the surface you run on rather than chasing one "best" one. More paved trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 1 trail here is a loop, so you finish back at the car with no backtracking — the easiest way to run a set distance without thinking about it. On an out-and-back you turn round at half your target distance, which makes any trail fit any run. The longest stated distance in Cumberland is Mercy Woods Preserve at 13 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 3 trails in Cumberland are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 5 of the 8 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 3 have trailhead parking in Cumberland. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 with mile markers, 2 that runners describe as quiet, 1 dog-friendly, and 1 smooth and wide enough for a stroller or a wheelchair. Busy or quiet isn't a good-or-bad thing here: a busy path is the safer choice for a solo run at dawn, a quiet one is better for intervals.
More on all of this in the trail-running guides.
Browse Cumberland trails by type
Running trails near Cumberland
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.